[REVIEW] Scandal in the Spotlight: Takashi Ninagawa season 1 Main Story

After joining Revance as their ghostwriter, the MC finds herself tasked with the seemingly impossible for her first job: writing a song with Takashi, the quiet and indifferent leader of the band. As the composer of the self-produced group, Takashi is always lost in his own world and doesn’t even register the MC’s presence. The MC needs to write lyrics that will gain her Takeshi’s acknowledgement, but will she be able to when she’s just seen as an incompetent replacement for Ryo?!

While his idol persona presents someone who smiles radiantly when he sings on stage, Takashi’s true personality is of someone you wouldn’t have expected to become a pop star. A man of few words, Takashi is indifferent towards everything except his music. He’s acknowledged as a musical genius and writes music not only for Revance but other famous artists as well. His tunnel vision when it comes to his passion often causes him to drop everything so he can work on whatever pops into his head, often going without sleep or food so he can get the job done.

While Takashi can get brusque when it comes to recording sessions, it shows his refusal to compromise the quality of his works and how seriously he takes his profession. His role in the band led him to have an extremely close bond with Ryo, and consequently he took Ryo’s leave harder than anyone else. This causes him to initially build a wall between him and the MC; he can’t see her fulfilling the role Ryo left behind. There’s a lot of distance between the two of them throughout most of the first half of the route and the two only grow closer because the MC tries her best to understand Takashi as a person as well as a composer so she can write the lyrics he wants.

While it wasn’t written terribly, I think that more effort could have been put into the writing; the relationship development between Takashi and the MC is extremely slow in the beginning, and comes rather suddenly in the latter half of the story. The plot itself lacks a lot of the celebrity drama you see in the other SITS routes; the route focuses more on Takashi’s personal conflicts and character development instead of dramatic relationship conflicts that the other Revance members had. I think the pacing could’ve been done much better, mostly due to the slow beginning and rushed ending.

Overall, the story was slightly boring to me when I compared it to the other SITS routes. The writing could’ve been better, but you definitely learn more about Takashi himself in this story. If you’ve been waiting for Takashi since the app was announced, then I think this story is worth getting. However, expect the beginning to be really slow. I’m hoping Takashi’s sequel will bring him and the MC closer, and show more of the relationship development this route didn’t. Happy playing!

Hi! I’m contemplating buying Takashi’s route, but I’m curious about how he treats the MC. I’m aware he goes into ‘monster mode’ when he’s composing and recording, but is he insulting or a bully towards her?
I thought Kyo would have been like that, but he shows the MC a lot of respect.
It’s very difficult to get an insight into their character based on the first free chapter.
I’ve just finished Kota’s main and he’s such an awkward, adorable kitty! I just wish Voltage would write an MC with a decent poker face lol. “It’s written all over your face” must be Voltage’s most used line 😀

It’s been a while since I’ve played the story, but I don’t remember Takashi being overly cruel in his words or actions. While he was harsh, it was because he was expecting a lot from her, especially since Ryo chose her personally to fill his place.

Kyo is my second favorite in the game only to Nagito! I really liked his stories ^^ And Kota is a cutie! I didn’t enjoy his route was much as I thought I would but it was still pretty good 😀

Thank you for responding!
I loved Nagito’s route, too. I seriously wanted to drop Kota and pick up Nagito at the end of Kota’s Main story lol. And the option to slap Kota was gold!! I wish there were more options like that in Voltage games because, let’s face it, the guys deserve it half the time lol.
I think I’ll go for Takashi next. Thank you for your help.